By Cedric Gallant | Nunatsiaq News
The union representing Nunavik school teachers is planning a strike that will affect four school days starting Jan. 16, as negotiations for a new contract have dragged on for more than two years.
After more than 30 bargaining sessions since October 2022, negotiations are at an impasse, said Larry Imbeault, president of the Association of Employees in Northern Quebec.
The union is trying to negotiate two separate contracts for staff at Kativik Ilisarniliriniq — one for the teachers and another for support staff such as education technicians, he said.
Association of Employees of Northern Quebec president Larry Imbeault speaks at a rally in front of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq’s head office in April 2021. (File Photo)
Imbeault said talks for a new teachers’ contract have seen “no improvement at all,” which prompted the union to call for a strike.
On Dec. 18, a majority of both the teachers and support staff voted to give the union a strike mandate. In an interview Monday, Imbeault confirmed the strike, which will only involve the teachers, will run from Jan 16 at 11 a.m. until Jan 21 at 11 a.m.
On Dec. 20, the union called for conciliation in which Quebec’s labour ministry would appoint a neutral negotiator to help bring the two sides closer to an agreement.
“Quebec’s treasury secretary must realize that there needs to be more investments in Nunavik’s education, for that education to be at the same level as in the south,” Imbeault said in an interview, speaking in French.
“If they want to attract people to work in the North, there needs to be more money.”
For teachers, Imbeault points to two priorities in negotiations —improving staff bonuses, which have not been updated since 2001; and ensuring sufficient water is available in staff housing.
“When the teacher has not had water for three or four days, you have not washed yourself, to then go teach — it’s not easy,” he said.
He wants to ensure improvements are made to alleviate water supply issues for teachers’ housing.
In negotiations for a new support staff contract, Imbeault said priorities include improvements to bonuses and gaining the ability to work from home, which they currently can’t do.
“These are major issues that the employer is totally closed to,” he said, adding those negotiations have also included about 30 bargaining sessions.
“We did not want to [strike],” he said. “But we do not have a choice, it is our ultimate means to have our demands advance.”
Imbeault said there will be picket lines set up in front of schools in Nunavik.
Nunatsiaq News contacted both Kativik Ilisarniliriniq declined to comment on the negotiations or about how a strike would affect its schools. Quebec’s Treasury Secretary had not responded to a request for an interview about the talks.
